3D Robotics Solo vs Dji Phantom 3 Pro

[Buzz313th]

I flew a Solo the other day with Colin Guinn, formerly of DJI, when he was in Atlanta the other day. I own a P2V+ V. 1. And I love it except for my one bad battery. Solo is very, very smart. Much more functional for shooting great video via automated orbit and a cable settings. 3DR partnered with gopro to allow full function of camera from controller. I've flown the Inspire and liked it ok. I would buy a Solo before an Inspire in my opinion. If you are lucky enough to own a P3 you done good too. Hoping my company will be buying a Solo for work. Then I've got the best of both worlds.

I am also waiting to see what the solo offers up... I have a few questions that hopefully you can answer..

1. I think DJI did a great job with their Zenmuse gimbals. How is the stabilization on the Solo Gimbal? Comparable to the Zenmuse ones? As stable?

2. I'm not too interested in the automated flight features as I am in solid stable and smooth flight. Can you achieve smooth attitude, velocity and vector changes? Can you compare it to the P3 and the Inspire in this regards?

3. Does the Solo have a flight mode such as Attitude mode on the phantoms and Inspire, where it is not GPS stabilized, so we can set the drone in motion and it will drift for nice smooth moves?

4. How sensitive is the solo gimbal to neutral balance? It's really a PITA to have to counterbalance the Zenmuse H4-3D every time I put an ND on it or take it off. It would be nice if these guys considered putting adjustable rails where we can slide the camera around inside the cradle to help balance it without having to add counterbalance weights.

5. Any chance the 3DR will be offering other gimbal sets for other cameras such as the black magic Pocket Camera?

I will probably think of other questions soon.. but these are features that will help me decide where I'm going with my next flying camera.

 

[wxman]

I haven't flown the P3. I need HDMI out. So I would go with the Solo. I don't know that DJI ever appreciated my business. I got a good feeling from meeting Colin and two others from their team from Austin. Plus, they are going to license 3rd party add one to Solo....from a ballistic parachute developed by an Israeli company to a high intensity LED spot light for might shooting and remote lighting.

 

[wxman]

Wow Buzz 313th great questions. I wish you were with me when Colin was here. I can answer only the gimbal question. If it is solo licensed to will be plug and play. So there will be other gimbal options. Not licensed and it voids the warranty and they know you plugged it in.

 

[wxman]

I agree with the automated functions because I am a decent pilot too. But they are just so tempting. In orbit if you change altitude the gimbal adjusts to keep your subject matter in frame. On a cable run if you fly to within a few feet of your subject matter and record the input it will fly and stop at that point again when you fly the route at full speed. And the thing I liked the best is Solo is made to stay current for the next 24 months. Motors, props, ESCs are upgradeable. For commercial use that is huge.

 

[Buzz313th]

I agree with the automated functions because I am a decent pilot too. But they are just so tempting. In orbit if you change altitude the gimbal adjusts to keep your subject matter in frame. On a cable run if you fly to within a few feet of your subject matter and record the input it will fly and stop at that point again when you fly the route at full speed.

All nifty features.. But I assume those features are utilizing GPS to set the positions.. Unfortunately Civil GPS and Glonass doesn't have the resolution to nail these shots.. Yes you will be able to roughly get the camera to within a meter of the originally recorded marks, but a meter might be too course of resolution to make a good shot into a smooth, dynamic great shot.

See Philip Bloom's work... https://vimeo.com/philipbloom/kohyaonoi

By no means am I poo pooing on the features, they will be amazing tools for 99.9% of everyone.. Just giving an example of why the most important feature to me is a really stable camera platform that is an extension of the operator.

The Inspire1 is a really stable platform and feels good when you operate it, I just don't like the camera. The S1000 feels amazing and can fly a DSLR, but it's too big to always have ready in your car.. I'm hoping the Solo is the Inspire for the GoPro, or possibly other small cameras.

 

[AAA]

There is no such thing as "versus". Some will find the lower price point of phantom 3 compelling. Others will say the flexibility of SOLO is worth the extra cost. It will all depend on what you want to do or value. Just be glad there are options. The debate is silly -- just go read rcgroups threads and you will see what I mean.

 

[dunginhawk]

i was firmly in the 3dr camp when i started researching it... the only and i mean ONLY reason i bought a p3p is range. Unless they fix the range (its bad) with the solo i dont know that ill ever own one.. if they do. Im a buyer

 

[Buzz313th]

i was firmly in the 3dr camp when i started researching it... the only and i mean ONLY reason i bought a p3p is range. Unless they fix the range (its bad) with the solo i dont know that ill ever own one.. if they do. Im a buyer

If fixing the range will sell them more drones, then they will probably do that.. We will see..

 

[rrmccabe]

Yea I would hope they would replace the model you have. Colin says in all his videos in the event a

i was firmly in the 3dr camp when i started researching it... the only and i mean ONLY reason i bought a p3p is range. Unless they fix the range (its bad) with the solo i dont know that ill ever own one.. if they do. Im a buyer

Yea but first you need to make your P3 go more than 1/4 DJI's specified range

Sooooo are you liking all this wind? I am grounded too.

 

[CesarC]

let me preface this comment, that i am completely new to the hobby. I did purchase p3 because of all the features and i did compare it to the Solo. my comment is most of the features on the solo that the P3 does not have seem to be software driven (automated Flight) so who is to say there wont be an app for that with a firmware revision from DJI. of course i could be completely wrong.

 

[windexh8er]

let me preface this comment, that i am completely new to the hobby. I did purchase p3 because of all the features and i did compare it to the Solo. my comment is most of the features on the solo that the P3 does not have seem to be software driven (automated Flight) so who is to say there wont be an app for that with a firmware revision from DJI. of course i could be completely wrong.

I think the point 3DR is trying to make with the "dual processing" angle is that some of these features are processing intense. Couple the LightBridge downlink utilization on a variety of tablets and there's probably not a lot of room to move with regard to adding in heavy features.

That being said one of the big reasons I went P3 over Solo (for now) is range as others have stated. If you're trolling 3DR get me 2 miles out of your platform and you'll have another customer. I'll definitely keep my P3, but I'd like to have both platforms with decent range.

On top of all this - DJI support is downright horrid. And by horrid I mean I could fill a few sentences with expletives and not fully get my point across on how ignorant and slow they are to understand and respond to a request (phone and email). Thankfully the only interaction so far with them was my broken controller I got with my direct order P3. I ended up ordering from MultiCopterWarehouse and received that unit unbroken, but since then DJI has had my returned P3P since last Monday and I still don't have a refund. Their last email to me said "Don't worry and refund will be return to you soon". I have no confidence in them at all and my point is that if 3DR support and backing of their product is that much better I'm all about paying a bit more for the confidence in that relationship.

 

[Buzz313th]

I see no reason that DJI couldn't write those features in.. That is, unless there is some hardware limitation.

The biggest draw for me regarding the SOLO, is the ability to swap out cameras..

DJI makes great Drones, they are stable and predictable.. GoPro has made great cameras for a number of years.. I just wish DJI offered up a gimbal for the P3 or inspire that would fly a GoPro.. Unfortunately, I don't think that's ever going to happen, considering that bridge has been burned.

 

[Hovtech]

It still comes down to you can buy a P3 today and know a lot about what you are getting. Still cannot buy a Solo and everything we know about it is speculation and rumors, even the delivery date. Yes you can read specs, but who knows?

 

[Buzz313th]

It still comes down to you can buy a P3 today and know a lot about what you are getting. Still cannot buy a Solo and everything we know about it is speculation and rumors, even the delivery date. Yes you can read specs, but who knows?

That's why I'll wait till the first buyers report back.

 

[J.James]

Yea but first you need to make your P3 go more than 1/4 DJI's specified range

I have never had any problem with getting at least or better then the specified range out of any phantom I have right out of the box even in the city.

and as far as the p3 id say my best distance of about 18,000 feet is a bit more then the stated range of 2km that's more then double the stated range. and even other flights were I was flying real low and only getting between 8000-10000 feet is even more then the stated range.

Tho on the solo only having a stated range in the specs of just over 1/2 mile They even point out that thats only because of the controllers built in internal antennas. So if someone just has to get more distance then that. Its not any thing $10-15 and a few minutes of time to mod the controller will not fix.

 

[rrmccabe]

I have never had any problem with getting at least or better then the specified range out of any phantom I have right out of the box even in the city.

Regarding my comment. He is a friend if mine that lives here in town. I know the P3's will fly far. He ordered a P3P and I ordered a new Solo. I was just jerking his chain a little as he has not stretched his out yet The old Ford vs Chevy type rivalry.

I would like a P3 as well but I think Wang at DJI is an idiot and really don't care to give him any money at the moment.

 

[jlo]

I like the features on the solo's radio compared to the P3's. And aesthetically it's much prettier.

 

[rrmccabe]

I like the features on the solo's radio compared to the P3's. And aesthetically it's much prettier.

I doubt many people will argue that. The Solo has way more technology, features and controls built into the controller. The P3 a good machine but there is no comparison with controller end of things.

 

[Buzz313th]

I think their decision to make the controller more ergonomic by using internal antennas are a mistake though.

 

[rrmccabe]

I think their decision to make the controller more ergonomic by using internal antennas are a mistake though.

Internal antennas? I have not seen that.

EDIT: Just looked at recent pictures and noticed no antennas external. This is NOT what I was planning on....

If I did not have money tied up in a new GoPro with custom lens I would probably jump ship at this point. I was planning on external antennas. I think this bird is going to have distance issues anyway.